1. Why are CVs rejected?
1.a. First impressions
First impressions matter; if your CV does not attract the reader's attention in the first 20-30 seconds then your chances of obtaining an interview are greatly reduced. An employer may have a hundred or more CVs to look through and probably only a couple of hours in which to make their selection. So put your work experience at the start of your CV, not personal or educational details, unless you have only just left education.
What an employer really wants to know is why they should invite you for an interview. For this reason a short summary of your capabilities and/or a list of your major achievements can often be a good idea. This should make an employer want to invite you for an interview - but be careful that you do not oversell yourself.
1.b. Poor visual layout
The visual layout of your CV is very important. Even though the wording you use may be correct, if people cannot find the information they want quickly they will move on to someone else's CV. You should use plenty of 'white' space in your CV and appropriate headings and section breaks.
Always use a word-processor package. Use good quality A4 paper, preferably 100 gram for both your CV and cover letter.
1.c. Length of CV
It is usually best to try and keep your CV to two-four pages of A4, unless someone specifically asks you for a longer CV. If you cannot keep your CV to this length then you probably have not understood an employer's requirements. Employers do not want to know your whole life history - just enough to decide whether they should interview you or not.
1.d. Organising the information on your CV
If your CV is not well organized, then the reader will find it hard to follow and will not be able to build up a picture of you quickly. Remember the reader will not spend very long looking at your CV - so if they cannot find what they want they will not bother to read any further.
1.e. Overwritten - long paragraphs and sentences
This makes it difficult to read quickly - try and keep your sentences short and punchy.
1.f. Too little information
A lot of people do not include enough details about their previous jobs and experience and an employer therefore does not have enough information - they will therefore have to reject your application.
1.g. Not results orientated
You need to shout about your achievements. Please remember that your CV is your sales document to an employer. If it does not tell an employer why they should employ you then it has failed. An employer will only want to employ you if they can see a benefit in it for themselves. So do tell them the benefits of employing you.
1.h. CV makes you look too young/old for the job
In general being too young/old can be a real problem and a barrier to future advancement, or even to getting a job in the first place. There are a number of ways round this problem - but this depends very much on your individual circumstances and the industry/job you are applying for.
1.i. Mis-spellings, typographical errors, poor grammar
Your CV should be carefully checked for such errors before you send it out to employers. Tiny errors in your CV can detract from an otherwise good CV and make you look lazy or careless - not the sort of qualities you want to portray to an employer. As you will probably be 'blind' to these errors you should get someone else to check your CV for grammar and spelling errors.
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2. What should you leave out of your CV?
Photos, in most cases.
Any sort of failure - exams, marriages, businesses, etc.
Reasons for leaving each job.
Salary information - this can only be used to reject your application. If an advertisement specifically requests this information you can always include the information in your cover letter.
Fancy patterns/borders - these detract from your presentation
Title pages are usually unnecessary and can be off-putting (though if you are doing a special presentation, enclosing your CV in a folder may look more impressive)
Leave out age (put in date of birth instead - but, even date of birth may not be required), weight, height, health, or any other personal information that is irrelevant to your application.
Do not use poor quality photocopies of your CV - they make it look as though you are sending off your CV to lots of companies and that you may not be too bothered who you work for.
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3. What information will you need?
You should gather together all of the information required below. You will probably not use all of this information in your CV but it will provide you with useful reference material when it comes to preparing for interviews.
3.a. Personal Details
Include your full name, address, home telephone number and mobile phone number. You don't need to include date of birth or marital status. You may want to include nationality if you are applying for jobs abroad or if your name does not sound like other names in the country you are applying to work in.
3.b. Education / Qualifications
List your qualifications and education history, for example:
1996-2002 : Ph.D. in Language Testing, Tehran University
BSc in Biochemistry. Shiraz University, 1980 - 1984.
3.c. Professional Qualifications
List your professional qualifications such as membership of professional associations. If you recently completed a college or university degree, then you may want to list the courses you studied if the subject you studied was relevant to your target job.
3.d. Training Courses
List any work related training courses which you attended, including company courses and any you attended on your own initiative. If you obtained a qualification on any course, list it. You only need to list the important courses you attended; no one really cares if you went on a time management course as everyone gets sent on such courses!
3.e. Work Experience
If you have been working for a number of years you probably do not need to include any part-time jobs, vacation jobs, voluntary work or unpaid work experience. Charity work could be included in your interests. However you might want to include these jobs if they covered a period of unemployment, or a time when you were not working for any other reason, or you feel that some of the experience you gained will be useful in your next job. You should normally concentrate on your two most recent jobs (unless you were only there for a short time), because employers are usually most interested in these.
Start with your most recent or last job and work backwards. For each position (treat internal promotion as a new job and record the dates separately) list your job title (e.g. Manager, Supervisor, etc), the job title of the person you reported to (e.g. Director, Manager, etc) and when you started and finished in each job. Give the name of the company and include a brief description of the service they provide (using the terms they would use to describe themselves). Set out your main responsibilities, achievements, duties, and skills that could be transferred to another employer. Be specific and positive about your skills, e.g. 'good written skills' may be a better description of your abilities rather than 'good communication skills'.
Include your level of responsibility if any, e.g. 'responsibility for departmental budget of £100K and managed 10 staff'. In particular list any achievements you had in each position. Quantify your achievements if possible. You should try to include some achievements such as meeting deadlines, budgets, etc, and any information that may be relevant to your next job.
3.f. Major Achievements
When you are listing your achievements in this section, only list 3 to 6 of your most important work achievements; your other achievements can be described under the work experience section. You should only list achievements which are relevant to your next job and indicate how you achieved them.
This section is very important as an employer will only invite you for an interview if they can see a benefit in doing so. Your achievements may sell you to an employer and make them choose you for an interview rather than someone else. For this reason it is vital that you think carefully about your achievements.
3.g. Other Experience
List any computer skills you have, including the make and type of equipment you are familiar with, the software and operating system used, e.g. IBM compatible PC, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Office 97.
If you have foreign language skills which may be relevant for any jobs which you are applying for, please list them and indicate whether your skills are spoken, written, business or technical. Please also indicate your level of fluency: fluent, good working knowledge, etc. You should only list these skills if they are relevant to the jobs you are applying for as no one really wants to hear about a French language course you did at school a long time ago.
If relevant to your next job, include your typing or shorthand speeds.
3.h. Interests / Hobbies
List your interests, hobbies and any sports you play. List any positions of responsibility you hold or have held in any organization, and say what your responsibilities and achievements were.
3.i. References
You do not normally need to list referees on a CV, but it is a good idea to think about whom you could ask now. For some professions however it is normal to list referees; these include the teaching and health service (NHS) professions - your referees in these professions are often asked to provide you with a reference before you are even asked to an interview.
3.j. Summary
List your major skills, strengths, personal qualities and achievements. Be specific, e.g. good team player, excellent written skills, versatile, able to motivate others, etc. Look at your staff appraisals or at your references.
4. Selecting your CV format
To get yourself noticed it is important to use a CV format which will best represent you in the jobs market. There are any number of ways of laying out a CV, but these can in fact be reduced to 5 basic examples: Chronological CV (traditional approach - superseded by the Performance CV), Functional CV, Performance CV (an updated form of the Chronological CV), Targeted CV and Alternative CV. Each of these formats has its advantages and disadvantages (see below).
In general the Performance CV works best for most people, assuming that you are staying in the same field. If this format is unsuitable for you then you could try either the Functional or Targeted CV formats and see which reads/looks better for you. Even if you create a Performance CV for yourself, there are times when a Functional/Targeted CV may help you secure an interview when a Performance CV would fail.
4.a. Performance CV
In a Performance CV your employment history is shown in reverse chronological order, with your most recent job first. Job titles and company names are strongly emphasized and duties and achievements are described under each job title. You should use a Performance CV when you are seeking a job which is directly in line with your past experiences. The only difference between a Chronological CV and a Performance CV is that the Performance CV highlights a list of your major achievements near the start of your CV.
Advantages:
If you are planning to stay in the same field/work area.
If you want to show-off your promotions.
If the name of your last employer is highly prestigious.
Most people prefer this format to the other formats listed here because it is easy to see who you have worked for and what you did in each particular job.
Disadvantages:
If you are planning to change career direction.
If you have frequently changed employer.
If your work history has been patchy in recent years, either through unemployment, redundancy, self-employment, ill health, etc.
If you do not have many achievements (you could just leave out the achievements section as in a traditional Chronological CV) or your achievements are not in line with what you want to do now - either leave out the achievements section or consider using a Functional or Targeted CV.
4.b. Functional CV
This type of CV highlights the main functions/achievements of your whole career and it can therefore be very useful if you have had a varied career or you are seeking a change of career direction. In this format, job titles and company names are given less dominance or even omitted in some cases.
Advantages:
If you want to emphasize abilities and achievements that have not been used in your most recent job(s).
If you are changing career direction.
If you have had a large number of jobs and you would prefer to describe the experience you have gained in total.
If you want to include voluntary/unpaid experience.
If your work history has been patchy in recent years, either through unemployment, redundancy, self-employment, ill health, etc.
Disadvantages:
If you want to highlight promotions/career growth - you could include this sort of information on the second page of your CV, but it would not be as prominent as on a Performance CV.
If your most recent employer is highly prestigious, because their name will not be prominently displayed on the first page. You can get round this by putting their name in both the profile and cover letter.
If your job has only a limited number of functions.
Unusual CV format - may not be liked by everyone.
4.c. Targeted CV
This type of CV emphasizes your abilities and achievements which are directly relevant to a specific job target. It is best used when you are planning a change of career direction.
Advantages:
If you want to emphasize abilities and achievements that have not been used in your most recent job(s).
If you are changing career direction.
If you have had a large number of jobs and you would prefer to describe the experience you have gained in total.
If you want to include voluntary/unpaid experience.
If your work history has been patchy in recent years, either through unemployment, redundancy, self-employment, ill health, etc.
If you have several completely different job targets and you need a CV for each.
Disadvantages:
If you want to highlight promotions/career growth - you could include this sort of information on the second page of your CV, but it would not be as prominent as on a Performance CV.
If your most recent employer is highly prestigious, because their name will not be prominently displayed on the first page. You can get round this by putting their name in both the profile and cover letter.
Unusual CV format - may not be liked by everyone.
4.d. Alternative CV
This sort of CV is suitable for creative careers in, for example, writing, public relations and fashion designers. It is not suitable for senior managers/executives who would be better advised to use the Performance CV.
Advantages:
If the job requires exceptional talent in either the written or visual mediums.
If you will be applying directly to the person you will be working for.
Disadvantages:
Not to be used if you are seeking a management position.
If you are planning to apply through normal channels such as advertised vacancies/the Personnel Department.
This CV format may fail utterly if your ideas are not well received by the recipient of your CV.
5. Writing your performance CV
This section will teach you how to write a CV if you have identified that you need a performance CV. Generally you will find the layout described here will work for you. Feel free to add other sections as required or change the ordering of later sections to suit you.
5.a. Profile/Summary
This should be a short summary of your experience, skills and abilities, and be contained in four to six lines of text. Only list the attributes that will be of interest to your next employer; do not include irrelevancies.
5.b. Achievements
List 3 to 6 achievements which you feel will be in line with your next position. Do not list achievements which are not in line with what you want to do next. Bullet point your achievements to make them stand out. Start with the strongest point in your favour and then work backwards from there.
5.c. Experience
This should be in reverse chronological order starting with your most recent job and working backwards. You only need to include the year you started and the year you finished each job. You do not need to include the month or day, e.g. put 1993 - 1995 rather than 1.8.1993 - 4.6.1995. If you have had a lot of jobs you may need to group some of the earlier jobs together, e.g. '1975 - 1980 various engineering positions'.
If your job title does not reflect what you actually did, or it sounds a bit obscure, consider changing it. For example, if you are applying for a position as a Sales Representative and you are currently a Sales Representative but your job title (given to you by your company) is Customer Home Representative, you would be well advised to change your title to that of Sales Representative.
When you are describing your experience for each position you should start with the strongest point in your favour and then work backwards. If you have a lot of points to put under one specific job you may want to break this description into two or more sections. You could break up this section into responsibilities and achievements or you could break it up into specific functions, e.g. management, sales & marketing; the choice is yours.
If you have had a number of positions for a particular employer you may not want to include every individual job (in which case leave out the year designations for all jobs titles and just include the start and finish years for this employer), or you may be able to combine one or more of the jobs. If the jobs are completely unrelated you may be better off using a Functional or Targeted CV.
Make sure you stress your responsibilities and achievements under each job which will be useful in your next job, but do not repeat information in your CV as this will just bore the reader.
5.d. Training
Only include the most important training courses on your CV. You may not want to bother with a section on training or you may combine it with Education/Qualifications depending on how much space you have on your CV.
5.e. Education/Qualifications
Only list the most important qualifications. You may want to put this section before the Training Section. Unless you have just completed a degree or MBA, this section should go after work experience. In the case of recently completed education, if your work experience is more likely to be of interest to an employer, you should still put work experience first. You could perhaps mention your recent qualifications in your profile or in your cover letter.
5.f. Additional Information
Include any additional information, such as your familiarity with the target culture or people and any past trips to the region.
5.g. Interests
Keep this part fairly short, but make sure you list any current positions of responsibility. If you do not currently have any management responsibility and you are applying for a management position you may want to include positions of responsibility that you have held over the last few years, e.g. Play football for a local team - Captain, 1993 - 1996.
5.h. Sample Performance CV
Christopher Jones
24 Mansfield Drive, Chedlee,
Manchester, M23 4DJ.
Tel: (0161) 234 1234
Chrisj@gepofoods.com
PROFILE:
A Senior Quality Assurance Technician with a wide range of experience in the food industry. Able to work on own initiative and as part of a team. Proven leadership skills involving managing, developing and motivating teams to achieve their objectives. First-class analytical, design and problem solving skills. Dedicated to maintaining high quality standards.
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS:
Saved the company £50,000 a year by implementing a new quality assurance system.
Increased the acceptance level of finished goods from 96% to 99%.
Achieved BS5750 for the production line by rewriting the company's quality assurance procedures.
Solved major quality assurance problems which temporarily halted production.
EXPERIENCE:
1989 - date
GEPO FOODS LIMITED
1992 - date
Senior Quality Assurance Technician
Gepo Foods manufacture biscuits under the brand name Manu at their Manchester factory. Responsibilities and achievements:
Managed all quality assurance in Gepo Foods' Manchester factory and reported directly to the Factory Manager.
Managed a team of 6 people; assigning them tasks, and motivating them to meet deadlines.
Demonstrated the quality assurance procedures to customers on factory visits.
Performed Quality Audits at the factory.
1989 - 1992
Quality Assurance Technician
Created computer applications with the help of a programmer to monitor the factory environment.
Analysed the quality assurance system and made recommendations for improvements. These were incorporated into the current quality assurance system.
Examined equipment in the factory to check that it met the company standards.
Investigated new equipment installed in the factory to make sure that it would comply with quality assurance procedures.
1985 - 1989
SURRET FOOD PRODUCTS LIMITED
1986 - 1989
Research Technician
Surret Food Products manufacture a wide range of grocery products. Responsibilities:
Formulated new product lines and conducted the relevant laboratory experiments.
Performed a study of the shelf life of various canned foods.
Tested new products to check that they met EEC guidelines for bacteriological content.
Conducted a survey on packaging.
1985 - 1986
Plant Operator
Worked on the production line at the canning factory. Responsibilities:
Operated the canning machinery producing tinned fruit and vegetables.
Solved and fixed any production line problems with the help of the service engineer.
TRAINING COURSES:
Various courses including: Quality Assurance, The BS5750 Quality Approach, Team Leadership I & II, Time Management, Report Writing.
QUALIFICATIONS / EDUCATION:
BSc (Hons) 2.2 in Chemistry at the University of Warwick (1985).
3 A Levels: Chemistry [B], Mathematics [B], Biology [B]; 6 O Levels.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Driving Licence: Full, clean.
INTERESTS / HOBBIES:
Football, Grand Prix racing, physical fitness - gym.
6. Writing your functional CV
When you are writing a Functional CV you have to try and list all your experience under various functional headings. You should have a look at the headings below and decide which of them may be useful to you. You can of course use other headings. Once you have chosen the headings you will have to decide which is the most appropriate order to put them in, e.g. if you are looking for a management position put this functional heading first.
You should have between 2 and 5 bullet points under each of your headings. If you have more than 6 bullet points under a heading consider whether you could list any of the bullet points under another heading. You should probably end up with between 3 to 6 functional headings.
When you are writing the bullet points under each functional heading you must stress the responsibilities and achievements which are relevant to your next job. In a Functional CV you should include voluntary/non paid work experience which is relevant to your next position under the functional headings.
In general you should normally include a brief summary of the employer you have worked for, the job titles and dates, after the functional part of the CV. If you feel that this will stop you getting to the interview stage you may want to leave out any reference to your actual employment history. In this case it may be best to keep your CV to one page.
6.a. Example Functional Headings
Administration, Advertising, Communications, Construction, Consulting, Counselling, Designing, Editing, Education, Electronics, Engineering, Human Resources, Insurance, Journalism, Law, Management, Marketing, Medicine, Music, Nutrition, Organisation, Planning, Production, Promotion, Public Relations, Publishing, Research, Sales, Secretarial, Strategic Planning, Training, Transport, Travel, Writing Experience, Research Interests, Teaching Experience, Grants and Awards.
6.b. Training
Only include the most important training courses on your CV. You may not want it depending on how much space you have on your CV.
6.c. Education/Qualifications
Only list the most important qualifications. You may want to put this section before the Training Section. Unless you have just completed a degree or MBA, this section should go after work experience. In the case of recently completed education, if your work experience is more likely to be of interest to an employer, you should still put work experience first. You could perhaps mention your recent qualifications in your profile or in your cover letter.
6.d. Additional Information
Include any additional information, such as your familiarity with the target culture or people and any past trips to the region.
6.e. Interests
Keep this part fairly short, but make sure you list any current positions of responsibility. If you do not currently have any management responsibility and you are applying for a management position you may want to include positions of responsibility that you have held over the last few years, e.g. Play football for a local team - Captain, 1993 - 1996.
6.f. Sample Functional CV
Christine Jones
24 Mansfield Drive, Chedlee,
Manchester, M23 4DJ.
Tel: (0161) 234 1234
Chrisj@jackson-eng.com
PROFILE:
A self-motivated and hard working Personnel Officer with experience in all aspects of personnel work. Able to use own initiative and work as part of a team. Proven leadership skills, including managing and motivating other staff to achieve company objectives. An effective communicator at all levels within an organisation. Good problem solving and analytical skills. Computer literate.
HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING:
Assessing the company's future staffing requirements over the short, medium and long-term.
Liaising with the company's senior management to determine their human resources requirements.
Producing a comprehensive human resources plan for the company's expansion over the next five years.
REWARD MANAGEMENT:
Administering the company's pay policy.
Devising new and effective company incentive schemes - these have reduced absenteeism and increased production levels by 10%.
Managing the company's share ownership scheme.
Liaising with the external fleet manager.
RECRUITMENT & SELECTION:
Preparing and placing advertisements in the local and national press.
Interviewing candidates and checking references.
Producing job descriptions and contracts of employment.
Liaising with other departments in the company over candidate selection/rejection.
Co-ordinating with local job centres, schools and colleges.
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT:
Developing effective training programmes in conjunction with other departments in the company.
Organising and conducting induction training sessions for all new employees.
Appointing and monitoring external training organisations for specialist training courses.
EMPLOYEE SERVICES:
Managing and maintaining staff personnel records.
Counselling staff as and when required.
Organising social activities as the Activities Officer of the staff social club.
Producing Health & Safety reports.
EXPERIENCE:
1989 - date
JACKSON ENGINEERING
1995 - date
Personnel Officer
1989 - 1995
Personal Assistant to the Director
1983 - 1989
ATLAS FOODS LTD
1987 - 1989
Secretary to Manager
1983 - 1987
Typist
TRAINING:
Presentation Skills, Negotiation Skills, Team Leadership, Training the Trainer Course, Administration in a Personnel Department.
QUALIFICATIONS:
IPM Certificate in Personnel Practice.
6 GCE O Levels: English Language [C], Mathematics [C], French [C], Biology [C], Geography [C], History [C].
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Driving Licence: Full, clean.
INTERESTS:
Keeping fit - tennis, squash, gym. Amateur dramatics - usually take part in at least one production per year (work permitting!).
7. Writing your targeted CV
To produce a Targeted CV you will need to decide which attributes and achievements will be appropriate for the job you are applying for. As well as including past experiences you can also include future related skills that you may not have had actual work experience in. For example, if you have recently undertaken a course you can include any activities you performed whilst on the course.
Your work history and education history may be included after you have described your capabilities and achievements. Try and keep a Targeted CV short. You may have to prepare a Targeted CV for each individual job you are targeting.
7.a. Education/Qualifications/Training
Only list the most important qualifications. Unless you have just completed a degree or MBA, this section should go after work experience. In the case of recently completed education, if your work experience is more likely to be of interest to an employer, you should still put work experience first. You could perhaps mention your recent qualifications in your profile or in your cover letter.
7.b. Sample Targeted CV
Christopher Jones
24 Mansfield Drive, Chedlee,
Manchester, M23 4DJ.
Tel: (0161) 234 1234
Chrisj@gepofoods.com
PROFILE:
A self-motivated Senior Quality Assurance Technician with a wide range of experience in the food industry. Able to work on own initiative and as part of a team. Proven leadership skills involving managing, developing and motivating teams to achieve their objectives. First-class analytical, design and problem solving skills. Dedicated to maintaining high quality standards.
ABILITIES:
Managing all quality assurance procedures and systems in a modern food manufacturing environment.
Controlling a team; assigning them tasks and motivating them to achieve deadlines.
Performing quality assurance audits, which includes analysing procedures and making recommendations for improvements.
Obtaining ISO9000/BS5750 accreditation for manufacturing sites/departments.
Organising and conducting the training of Quality Assurance personnel.
Testing products to ensure they meet all UK and EU food regulations/directives.
Presenting reports and demonstrating Quality Assurance procedures to clients.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
Implemented a new quality assurance system for a major manufacturing client which will save them £100,000 per annum on one production line alone.
Increased the acceptance level of finished goods from 97% to 99% in a modern factory, reducing wastage and thereby increasing their profits.
Achieved ISO9000/BS5750 accreditation for a Production Department by designing and implementing new quality assurance procedures.
Solved major quality assurance problems which temporarily halted production at a well-known food manufacturer's plant.
EXPERIENCE:
1989 - date
GEPO FOODS LIMITED
1989 - date
Senior Quality Assurance Technician
1985 - 1989
SURRET FOOD LIMITED
1985 - 1989
Research Technician
QUALIFICATIONS:
BSc (Hons) 2.2 in Chemistry at the University of Warwick (1985).
3 A Levels: Chemistry [B], Maths [B], Biology [B]; 6 O Levels.
8. Writing your alternative CV
An alternative form of CV can only really be used by artistic people and even then it may well fail utterly. For example, if you were in advertising, an example of this format would be to produce an advertisement with yourself as the product. What you are trying to do is illustrate your work with a highly individual approach. You would be well advised to prepare a more traditional form of CV as well, in case this method does not work.
9. Practical Steps to Writing your CV
Step One
Assemble your information: degrees, diplomas, papers published, books and articles authored, courses taught, grants and prizes earned.
Step Two
Decide on a format. In most cases, a single format does not work properly and you will have to combine two or more formats to create your own format. Meanwhile, it is important to decide on the subheadings of your CV because no one can really tell you the exact subheadings you need to include.
Step Three
Clarify your objectives. Are you looking for a position? Graduate admission?
An administrative post?
Step Four
Check out current trends in CVs in books and magazines and on Web sites dedicated to careers and graduate programs particularly those belonging to your colleagues. Look at CVs on the Internet, especially within your orbit of interest.
Step Five
If you're a job seeker, list courses taught (latest first), including institutions, departments and courses. Also include special classifications such as department head, graduate advisor, committee member, etc.
Step Six
If you're a would-be contributor, first list articles, books, papers or columns authored; include publication, issue, year and publishing house.
Step Seven
If you're a hopeful graduate student, list diplomas, GPA, experience and education first.
Step Eight
Include thesis topics and areas of interest in detail; this document will be used to gauge experience, applicability and interest.
Step Nine
Have a literate friend or colleague proofread, edit and generally review your document for clarity and polish.
Step Ten
Remember to include a bit of personality in your CV through your language and your personal style.
Step Eleven
Update and polish your curriculum vitae every time something changes: a Ph.D. earned, a professorship, a book accepted for publication, etc.